Late Error by Bianchi Opens Up Title Battle

Qualifying:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time
1	47	Lando Norris		1:26.540
2	27	Jules Bianchi		1:26.583
3	96	Diego Álvarez Torrente		1:26.725
4	73	Daniel Melrose		1:27.157
5	18	Sebastian Vettel		1:27.194
6	33	Salvatore Miccoli		1:27.238
7	64	Dave Cassidy		1:27.271
8	55	Santiago Urrutia		1:27.386
9	14	Marcel Agyemang-Badu		1:27.460
10	7	Charles Leclerc		1:27.611
11	3	Marvin Kirchhöfer		1:27.926
12	6	Artem Markelov		1:27.930
13	35	Sergey Sirotkin		1:27.964
14	1	Pastor Maldonado		1:28.072
15	57	Dean Stoneman		1:28.080
16	28	Harrison Newey		1:28.281
17	94	Pascal Wehrlein		1:28.298
18	39	Sho Tsuboi		1:28.400
19	10	Pierre Gasly		1:28.469
20	37	Kazuki Nakajima		1:28.681
21	56	Einar Ármannsson		1:28.715
22	19	Jordan Davies		1:28.871
23	23	Alexander Albon		1:29.022
24	98	Bradley Dagnall		1:29.168

Report:

Jules Bianchi had given up a significant amount of points but still arrived with a chance to secure the world title after F1’s long break full of revolution. He was looking to turn things in the right direction.

For the majority of the race, things looked just right, he had the race under control after passing pole-setter Lando Norris, who had ended Precision’s attempt at beating Red Bull Racing’s record of 13 consecutive pole positions.

Unfortunately, in the late part of the race, his worn tyres caused a missed brake point and a tragic retirement, leaving his teammate to cut down the point differential to a touchdown. A third place for Daniel Melrose means he’s also still in contention.

The two Caterham drivers wasted a good qualifying through an amateur error and a lack of emotional control respectively, whereas young, experienced drivers like Agyemang-Badu and Davies proved their mettle and took advantage of the late-race chaos.

Race:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time/Retired	Points
1	96	Diego Álvarez Torrente		56:37.296	15
2	64	Dave Cassidy		+20.874	12
3	73	Daniel Melrose		+25.489	10
4	14	Marcel Agyemang-Badu		+34.020	8
5	47	Lando Norris		+54.081	6
6	33	Salvatore Miccoli		+55.137	5
7	6	Artem Markelov		+62.887	4
8	35	Sergey Sirotkin		+76.535	3
9	18	Sebastian Vettel		+77.313*	2
10	19	Jordan Davies		1 Lap	1
11	39	Shu Tsuboi		1 Lap	0
12	28	Harrison Newey		1 Lap	0
13	37	Kazuki Nakajima		1 Lap	0
14	98	Bradley Dagnall		1 Lap	0
15	56	Einar Ármannsson		Transmission	0
16	27	Jules Bianchi		Accident	0
DNF	3	Marvin Kirchhöfer		Collision	0
DNF	55	Santiago Urrutia		Throttle	0
DNF	57	Dean Stoneman		Motor	0
DNF	1	Pastor Maldonado		Transmission	0
DNF	7	Charles Leclerc		Accident	0
DNF	23	Alexander Albon		Motor	0
DNF	94	Pascal Wehrlein		Accident	0
DNF	10	Pierre Gasly		Accident	0

* 30-second penalty for causing an avoidable accident

Fastest Lap:

Diego Álvarez Torrente – 1:28.580

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Marcel Agyemang-Badu – professional drive reminded the world why he’s the last driver to win a race for Ferrari.

Reject Of The Race:

Caterham’s drivers – wasting precious chances is not gonna help secure them P2 in the WCC.